Archive for the ‘RHS Boys' Basketball’ Category

Before losing to top-seeded Kennedy 72-56 in the Class A Section quarterfinals February 22, the No. 9 Rye boys’ basketball team went on the road February 18 and defeated eighth-seeded Roosevelt with a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback.

Senior captain Conor Smith splashed a game-winning corner 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds left in the game, and the Garnets escaped Yonkers High School with a 56-54 victory over the Indians.

Chris Twyman and Brian Pickup celebrate Conor Smith’s game-winner.

“I had a feeling the extra pass would be made and the ball would end up in my hands,” said Smith of Rye’s exhilarating final possession. “We’ve been playing team ball as of late, and I knew it was going in as soon as I released it. I even told my friend during the week – jokingly – that I’d hit the game-winner!”

Rye senior captain Conor Smith splashed a game-winning corner 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds left in the first round of the Class A Section playoffs February 18, and the ninth-seeded Garnets escaped Yonkers High School with a 56-54 victory over No. 8 Roosevelt.

“I had a feeling the extra pass would be made and the ball would end up in my hands,” said Smith of Rye’s exhilarating final possession. “We’ve been playing team ball as of late, and I knew it was going in as soon as I released it. I even told my friend during the week — jokingly — that I’d hit the game-winner!”

The Garnets trailed by as many as nine points in the final quarter thanks to a 3-point bonanza from Roosevelt, but scratched and clawed their way back without ever losing composure or diverting from the game plan. Key steals by Smith and offensive rebounds by senior captain Brian Pickup were pivotal, and fellow senior Chris Twyman blocked a potential game-tying lay-up with less than a second remaining to seal the victory.

Rye advances to the quarterfinals, where they meet top-seeded Kennedy on the road Tuesday at 6.

Critics were quick to assail the Miami Heat and their star-studded roster when the franchise stumbled out of the gate to a 9-8 record this season. Although most understood it would take time for Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh to gel, barbs were nevertheless launched in South Beach’s direction.

It was a very ordinary evening in the Twyman house. Basketball was on the television, and father and sons were tuned in to the hard-court drama.

The rejuvenated Knickerbockers were running yet another team off the court with their scintillating brand of speedball, and Walt “Clyde” Frazier was likely praising New York for their “omnipotence” in “swooping and hooping” to a victory. The Twyman brothers, however, were instead focused on the mechanisms of the game. Chris and Max pointed out to their father, Jay, that – yes, indeed – the Knicks were running the same offense as the team they play for, the Rye Garnets.

There’s nothing surprising about a high school team cribbing a professional one’s plays, but there is one very unordinary reason for the stylistic similarities between the teams. Mike D’Antoni, the Knicks’ head coach, isn’t just the architect of New York’s breakneck offense. The coach, a Rye resident, has taught portions of his renowned offensive playbook to the home team in person.

D’Antoni’s son, Mike Jr., is a sophomore who plays for the Garnets and the reason the former NBA Coach of the Year has made himself available to the varsity team. From running offseason pickup games at Rye Recreation to teaching professional drills at the Carver Center and attending practices, the West Virginia native is keen on sharing his basketball acumen.

Yes, that Tappan Zee. The same Tappan Zee team that defeated the Rye boys’ basketball team by a mere four points in the Class A quarterfinals last month. The same seventh-seeded Dutchmen that the Garnets led (!) with less than four minutes to go.

Head coach Chris DiCintio already felt his Garnets — who return a strong nucleus next year — could win the Section in 2010-11. DiCintio said “we’re cautiously optimistic!” when asked yesterday if TZ’s big win only strengthened his championship feelings.

If the final seconds of February 17’s Class A Section quarterfinal at Tappan Zee had gone the other way, the Rye boys’ basketball team would have had the honor of playing in the County Center for a second consecutive year. Instead, the No. 7-seeded Dutchmen escaped with a 53-49 victory against the 18th-seeded Garnets, who scratched, clawed and ultimately played a game that embodied their entire season.

Dropped in a hostile environment and facing an 11-point deficit early in the third quarter, Rye (10-11) did what has come naturally this year. They got to work.

The Rye boys’ basketball team’s season came to end last night at Tappan Zee High School, as the Garnets fought valiantly but fell to the Dutchmen 53-49. Rye led 49-48 after a pair of Brian Pickup free throws with 3:52 remaining, but failed to score another point the rest of the way. Despite having multiple opportunities to take the lead or tie the game down both one and two points in the waning seconds, the 18th-seeded Garnets could not get a shot to fall against their 7th-seeded opponents. All three of Rye’s captains scored in double figures. Senior Tim Lonergan played perhaps the game of his career, abusing Tappan’s point guard with multiple scoring drives to the hoop. He finished with 13 points, as did Brendan Nagle. Pickup scored 10. More on this game and a season wrap here today or tomorrow, as well as in next week’s issue of The Rye Record.

Rye's team defense in effect

In their penultimate regular season game, the Rye ice hockey squad — now the No. 2-ranked Division II team in New York State — fell to visiting power Monroe-Woodbury 7-2. It was their first loss in the new year. The Garnets’ record currently stands at 12-4-3. Their regular season finale is tomorrow at local rival Rye Country Day School. The Sectionals begin next week and conclude February 28 at West Point.

At School of the Holy Child, the Gryphons and Wildcats’ basketball teams renewed their hardcourt rivalry with RCDS coming out on top, 43-30. Alexandra Osborn-Jones had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Carolyn Binder added 13 points and five assists for the Wildcats who finished the regular season 14-4.Katie Hughes and Molly Schauber had eight points apiece for Holy Child.

There was plenty of Garnet action on the courts, mats, pools and tracks over the weekend, and plenty of Sectional success as well. The Rye boys’ basketball team scored the stunner of the weekend, as the 18th-seeded squad upended No. 2 Sleepy Hollow 54-39 on the road Friday. With the win, Rye is now in position to visit the County Center for a second consecutive year. First they’ll need to go through No. 7 Tappan Zee on the road Wednesday at 6 p.m. Against the Horsemen, Conor Smith paced the Garnets with 17 points and Brian Pickup added 13.

Graham Zahringer provided an excellent showing for the Rye wrestling team at Sectionals on Saturday and Sunday, as he battled his way to the championship bout in the 152-pound weight class. The Garnet captain defeated a pair of Arlington wrestlers in the quarterfinals and semifinals via decision, but fell in the final to New Rochelle’s Diaz in a 3-2 decision. Jesse Trumm made his way as far as the quarterfinals in the 145-pound weight class.

Graham Zahringer on senior day

Unfortunately for the Rye girls’ basketball team, their season came to an end on Friday at No. 6 Albertus Magnus. The 11th-seeded Garnets dropped a 56-37 decision. Rye trailed 30-14 at halftime, but sliced the deficit to seven at the end of three quarters. Albertus, however, put the Garnets away in the fourth quarter. Lillian McCabe and Catharine Greer each scored 13 in the loss.

While the girls’ basketball team suffered a defeat in Rockland, the Rye boys’ swimming team was putting together an impressive showing a few steps down the road Friday at Felix Festa Middle School in the Section championships. The Garnets competed in six events overall, and finished fourth behind Tappan Zee, Horace Greeley, and Arlington. Junior Kevin Hughes provided the school’s highlight of the day by winning the 500-meter freestyle event in 4:40.60, which was eight seconds faster than his time just days before.

Rye’s indoor track team fared very well at the Section 1 Class B championships Sunday at The Armory. The boys placed third overall, while the girls finished sixth. Mac Gager toppled an all-time Rye record on his way to a first place finish in the 600-meter dash with a time of 1:24. Max Robinson placed first in the boys’ 2-mile run, while Torie Virtue took second in the high jump. Amanda Owens (pole vault), Erica Gold (1,500-meter race walk), Chris Fumasoli (shot put), Taylor Love (2-mile run), and the boys’ 4×800-meter relay team all finished third in their respective events.

Full feature stories on each of these teams will appear in the next issue of The Rye Record, and on here before that paper hits the stands February 26.

The 18th-seeded Rye High School boys’ basketball team just shocked No. 2 Sleepy Hollow on the road, 54-39. The Garnets evened their record at 10-10 with the victory, and will now face the winner of No. 7 Tappan Zee and No. 10 Walter Panas February 17 on the winning team’s home court.

Rye began the season 2-5, but head coach Chris DiCintio said even then that his team had the tools to be a dangerous squad come Sectionals. His words now ring prophetic as the Garnets are one win away from a second consecutive trip to the Section Semifinals at the County Center.

The Rye girls’ basketball team fell to Albertus Magnus 56-37 in Rockland.

The 18th-seeded Rye boys’ basketball team upended No. 15 Our Lady of Lourdes 48-43, on the road Thursday in the Outbracket Round of the Class A Section playoffs. Conor Smith paced the Garnets with 19 points, nine of them coming from downtown.

Conor Smith

Senior captain Brendan Nagle chipped in 10. With the victory, Rye is awarded a First Round meeting with No. 2 seed Sleepy Hollow today on the road at 5 p.m. Below are the playoff schedules for all teams who have qualified. The ice hockey Sectionals begin later this month.

I think my plan for today is to try and get to a little of all three RHS events. I’ll start off by heading over the Tappan Zee for boys’ swimming at Felix Festa at 4, and then shoot over to Albertus Magnus — just 0.7 miles from Festa — for the girls’ basketball game, which begins at 4:30. Finally, I’ll venture back over the Hudson to Sleepy Hollow for the boys’ basketball showdown. See you out there …